When the symphony was written, Haydn's patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy was resident, together with all his musicians and retinue, at his favorite summer palace at Eszterháza
in rural Hungary. The stay there had been longer than expected, and
most of the musicians had been forced to leave their wives back at home
in Eisenstadt, about a day's journey away. Longing to return, the musicians appealed to their Kapellmeister
for help. The diplomatic Haydn, instead of making a direct appeal, put
his request into the music of the symphony: during the final adagio
each musician stops playing, snuffs out the candle on his music stand,
and leaves in turn, so that at the end, there are just two muted violins left (played by Haydn himself and his concertmaster, Luigi Tomasini ). Esterházy seems to have understood the message: the court returned to Eisenstadt the day following the performance